It’s been unusually hot here in Vancouver but thankfully it has cooled off a bit today. Near where I’m staying is a beautiful park. This morning I spent some time wandering and enjoying the sights and smells of the forest as well as the peace and quiet. I discovered this in the forest floor...

I love dahlias but I've never had any luck growing them. Fortunately, my youngest sister seems to have a dahlia green thumb. If you have my 2018 calendar, the photo for August is a dahlia from her garden taken several years ago. This one is from her garden when I was visiting last summer. I'm looking forward to what awaits me this year!

When I was given my second-hand Nikon 1 J2 camera in 2014, I had no idea what to do with it. I had no one around me who could give me advice and no time to participate in photography groups or clubs. That left the internet. Oh. My. Goodness. I was completely overwhelmed.

Over the next few months, I slowly worked my way through the series, repeating some lessons when necessary and skipping others that weren't relevant. (I don't use Photoshop.) Although the learning curve was steep, thing slowly started to make sense. From there, I went on to other photography resources (more about those later) but I'm thankful for the courage this series gave me to begin to explore what my camera could do. I just needed to find a place to settle and begin, and this series was perfect.

Sadly, the blog is no longer active - it hasn't been updated since 2012 - but the blog posts still remain. If your starting point is "find your camera manual", then I recommend you take a look. Here's the link to Day 1: 31 Days to a Better Photo (Day 1: Welcome)

(To get to the next day in the series, go to the end of the blog post. You will see the option to head to the next post or to the previous post. You can also use the side menu to see the whole series. Remember, the latest blog is always at the top.)

If you are a beginning photographer but this series isn't for you, no worries. There are endless resources on the internet. The most important thing is that you find a place to start and then - here's the tricky part - you start! Wishing you all the best!

P.S. If you have a resource to recommend for beginning photographers, please mention it in the comments. I'd love to know!

The Plum Tree, My Garden, Osaka

SPOILER ALERT!

The lesson for Day 1 on "31 Days to a Better Photo" is to "take the photo"!